Fragments of Horror: Volume 1 (Junji Ito)

Giving this a 5/5 might seem like an odd score considering, this book is considerably smaller than that of "shiver", "smashed" or "frankenstein" and 1 or 2 of the storys were a bit underwhelming and came off as more comedic than horrific (Junji Ito does humour fairly well though).Bad parts aside.The presentation of this book is great. I love hardbacks and this one has a sleeve with 2 covers in one. That'll become apparent when you move the book around lighting... Actually, make that 3 covers because theres artwork under the sleeve too!It's a nice read through and although I have my personal opinion on some of the storys ("futon" springs to mind), the artwork more than makes up for that! (Who knows, maybe someone out there will find "futon" somewhat relatable... I hope not). This book also contains one of my favourite storys by Junji Ito "red turtle neck". The imagery in that one actually made me tense up.I'd say, if you've never read a Junji Ito manga then maybe start with his "Smashed" book or "Shiver" as they have some of the more memorable short storys and they're about twice the size, give or take 10-20 pages. But this isn't a bad one to start with.I think this book accurately sums up Junji Ito's style, what (to me) can be hit or miss sometimes, but for the most part; it's all good fun! And it comes with the previously mentioned cover sleeve; that none of the other Junji Ito manga's I own have, making this one slightly more unique than the rest.

I love the horror genre. From films to books to television, I'm an avid consumer. When I say horror though, I am talking about what I call real horror. Not the type that emphasizes jump scares or sadistic cruelty to elicit a reaction but the type that builds feelings of unease and a sense of strangeness. Horror should work subtly until it builds to a satisfying and unnerving conclusion. Then, it should stay with you long after the experience is over.I never really considered comics to be a viable medium for this type of genre. I never believed it was capable of expressing an uncanny atmosphere or building adequate tension.Junji Ito proved me completely and happily wrong.Apart from the fact that his skills as an artist are beautiful to look at he is also a master story teller. He is not afraid to take his time, each panel building the eerieness of the tale with one shocking event after another, depicted in gorgeous detail. But, when he reaches the end of the tale and the horror is revealed, he doesn't hide a thing, everything is shown in it's immaculately grotesque glory.If I have any complaint, I just wish it was longer. Other than that, brilliant.Junji Ito made a believer out of me.

After reading Ito's 'Shiver' (another collection of short stories), I was a little disappointed with 'Fragments of Horror'. Don't get me wrong, the stories in 'Fragments of Horror' are brilliant, it's just the book isn't much thicker than a regular manga and costs as much as 'Shiver', which is about the thickness of 3 mangas so I feel a little ripped-off (I just wanted to make other buyers aware of this).Anyway, now that that is out of the way, the content is of course Ito's usual exceptionally high standard of horror so I highly recommend it to anyone considering adding it to their collection!

I love all of Ito's story's and have been slowly collecting all of his book! I love this book! It has some of my favourite story's such as 'the whispering women'. Its the right amount of scary for me, with wonderful art.

... for the right person.The dustjacket is spot laminated, and cover is printed with silver ink, it's a really beautiful object!It's an odd size, neither comic nor manga sized, but a nice middle-ground.The content is exquisitely rendered, the subject matter broadly being about romance between young people, marred by something weird and terrible.Rather than tentacles and objectification of women, the stories explore the anxiety, fearfulness and suffering associated with what's happening to the characters, so it can be very unsettling, hence the 'right person' mentioned above.

I was a bit apprehensive after reading the reviews, however, the book came perfect with no scratches or dents.

Super impressed! If you get the hardcover it's beautiful! What you can't see on the images is that it has this lovely clear gloss on the cover that forms creepy images. Well worth the purchase! I brought it as a gift and every day it was a talking point. If you are a fan of Ito's work, this is a good addition to your collection.

Bought for my horror mad daughter. She was very pleased. I was a bit disappointed that it was a comic style book, so not much reading involved.